Enter: Blake Belladonna
by Alienfromx
Summary: Ruby and Yang have recently formed a team with the addition of Weiss Schnee. Unfortunately, the team is already facing difficulties and are on the search for a fourth member. At the same time, rumors have spread about a mysterious girl taking down Grimm by herself? Could this be the final member that the team needs?
1. Chapter 1

Enter: Blake Belladonna

Five times had been five times too many. The Grimm were getting smarter and the three of found ourselves in tight corners more often.

"I am _not_ going to let either of you idiots lead the way again," Weiss said as she sewed her now torn up dress. "These dresses aren't exactly cheap, you know?"

Yang snorted at Yang's complaints. "You wear the same wardrobe every other day," she laughed. "Besides, do you really think people out here in the forest are going to care if your dress is a little tattered?"

"I do," said Weiss, "Because I have standards for what a person should look like."

"About eighty percent of Remnant's population probably couldn't meet your ridiculous standards," Yang muttered.

"Guys," I sighed. "Can you two stop arguing?"

They both looked at me with tension in their faces.

"We need to think of a way out of our current situation."

Yang's eyebrows furrowed at my words. "Stop talking like that, Ruby," she said sharply. "There's nothing the three of us can't do."

"More like nothing the two of you can do without my guidance," Weiss added abruptly.

Yang turned her head with a fist raised.

"But I really think we need more help," I said quickly before Weiss found herself missing a tooth.

Both of them grew silent again at my words. There was a very long and awkward pause that made me fidget uncomfortably.

"I've just noticed that other Huntsmen teams usually have at least four people," I said to break the silence. "Maybe one more with a helpful semblance is what we need to stop getting nearly beaten by Grimm."

"I wouldn't call say we were almost beaten?" Yang said, sounding almost offended by what I had said.

Weiss couldn't help herself. "Only because I—"

"Shut up, princess."

I groaned loudly and planted my back against my bed. This team had only been recently formed and it was already facing difficulties. Weiss and Yang argued endlessly, Weiss and I were the only ones coming up with strategies, and we had trouble fighting as a team. Something more needed to be added. It wasn't going to happen while Yang and Weiss went at each other's throats. It was up to me for something to happen.

During my evening scout for Grimm, I overheard something on the radio transmitter Weiss had given me.

"A mysterious shadow girl has been cleansing the city of Grimm," said a reporter. "Locals describe a young girl wiping out entire hordes by herself but have yet to actually meet this mysterious girl."

My ears immediately perked at those words.

"Rumors have been spreading that this girl is a young Huntress," the reporter went on. "Although rogues have a reputation for being reckless and violent, locals themselves say they are more than happy for her appearance."

I felt myself smile as I turned off the transmitter. A young girl who fought off Grimm for the good of others. She sounded like the perfect addition to our team. I immediately turned around and headed back to our camp. There are moments when I get so giddy that all logic gets thrown out the window and this was one of them. If only I had known that getting Weiss and Yang to go with my idea would be like pulling teeth.

"You can't be serious," Weiss said, so taken back by my proposal that she'd stopped brushing her hair.

"Granny hairs is right," Yang said, sparking a deadly stare from Weiss. "How do you know this girl will even want to work with us?"

"I…" I said weakly, trailing off because I was nervous about saying what I really felt. "I…just have this feeling. You know?"

Yang's gaze hardened and she crossed her arm. "I don't like this idea," she said, "but you've proven to me enough times that your intuition is usually pretty good."

"You two are hopeless," Weiss sighed. "But I suppose that's what I'm here for."

I smiled weakly at her. She was a massive pain at times, but I really believed that she cared about us. At least I wanted to.

The three of us were quick to get on our gear and head outside towards the city. My imagination pictured us as intimidating Huntresses tracking down our prey like vultures. In reality, we were just a group of overconfident teenage girls running into trouble. This city in particular was plagued by Grimm attacks nearly every week. The population suffered crippling migration rates all the time because of this and it was mostly a ghost town at this point. I could already notice this by the lack of people roaming the streets.

"This doesn't look good," I said.

"Brilliant observation," Weiss snapped.

I heard Yang chuckle a little at Weiss's comment and stopped talking after that. We could only observe a small handful of people lurking in the windows, peeking at the three girls walking down the alleys with not a sign of fear.

We walked down several dark alleys, finding nothing but emptiness and the smell of rotten meat.

"You sure this girl is here?" Yang asked. I could tell she was nervous because she always rubs her elbows whenever something makes her uncomfortable enough.

"I don't know," I said while trying to hide my disappointment.

"Well she'd better be," said Weiss. "Because I am not going to stay in this place any longer if we don't find anything soon."

"Sounds good to me," Yang said loudly, causing Weiss to curl her nose.

"Wait!" I whispered after stopping in place. "Do you hear that?"

Weiss and Yang both cupped their hands behind their ears and listened intently.

"Yes…" Weiss said softly.

"Really?" Yang asked, leaning her head forward as if it helped her hear better. "I can't hear anything."

"I'm surprised you have trouble hearing," Weiss said sarcastically, "because one would think that the empty space in your head would leave ample room for you to hear."

"Has anybody ever told you that you have a really punchable face?" asked Yang.

"Guys, stop!" I said as loud as I could get without actually shouting. "Listen."

They both stopped and listened once more. The sound was louder now. It sounded like footsteps rapidly moving from one place to the other.

"I think it's her," I said excitedly.

"But which direction do we go in?" asked Yang. "We can hear footsteps but that doesn't mean we know which direction it's going in."

I slowly turned myself in a circle while thoughtfully scratching my nose. "There!" I finally said, pointing to an alley that I picked at random.

"Did you actually put any thought into that?" asked Weiss.

"Uhh…"

"Let's just go," said Yang. "I'm starting to get impatient."

We walked toward an alley that didn't look much different from the others. It was still dark, empty, and smelly. I held Crescent Rose tightly by my side just in case a Grimm snuck behind us. You could never know when they would show up.

The alley I picked up lead us into a dead end. I didn't even need to look at the other two to know that they were annoyed with me.

"Ruby," Yang said as nicely as she could, "I think we should just give up on this. She's not going to appear."

"I can't," I said defiantly. "We came all this way and—"

I gasped as I felt an arm wrap around my neck and forcefully push my chin up. I then heard the sound of blades being removed from their sheath.

"Don't move," said a dark voice.

I swallowed at the sound of the voice and saw the blades move very close to my throat.

"Get off of her!" Yang shouted, shooting at my captor with Ember Celica. I felt the arms around me disappear, only to be replaced by a black mist.

"Ugh!" I heard Weiss grunt loudly.

"You're an awful violent lot, aren't you?" asked the voice. I turned and saw Weiss being held by a girl taller than her and myself. She had long black hair and held what looked like a katana in one hand and a tonfa in the other. She wore a black bodysuit that it made it difficult to see her entirely. The most jarring thing about her were the piercing yellow eyes.

"She's so fast!" I exclaimed, fearing that this person had the same semblance as me.

"Don't attack me again unless you really want to lose a teammate, Huntress," said the girl.

Yang stared at her angrily, and then slowly put her arm down.

"Good," the girl said. She had a very monotone expression but spoke in a somewhat sinister tone.

"Wait!" I said, taking a careful step towards her. "We aren't here to fight you."

"Then what are you here for?" the girl asked, keeping her hand firmly placed on the katana.

"Are you the girl who's been hunting down Grimm here?" I asked.

The girls expression didn't change. "What do you want?"

"I…uh…wanted to ask you if—"

"Ruby!" Yang barked, "She's not going to join us! She's already tried to kill you and now she's threatening Weiss."

I looked and saw Weiss struggling to free herself from the girls grip.

"You should listen to your friend," said the girl.

" _Sister,_ " Yang added.

"Whatever. Listen to her. I don't want anything to do with you. Leave this city now before I decide to slice your teammates head off."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, hearing my voice crack slightly.

"I have no reason to trust you," said the girl.

I did the only thing I could think of and gently put Crescent Rose down.

"Ruby" Yang said with shock. "What are you doing?"

"I'm showing her that we aren't here to fight," I said.

Yang grit her teeth at me, looked back at Weiss, and then gently took off her gauntlets.

I could have sword that I saw the girls eyes soften for a split second before forcefully releasing Weiss. I caught Weiss in my arms before she fell face first onto the road.

"I've released your friend," said the girl. "Now go away." And without another word, she jumped towards a nearby window ledge and crawled inside.

Weiss breathed heavily and then slammed a fist into the road. "I'm too weak," I heard her mutter. "I need to get stronger."

I frowned at her and then looked at the window ledge. There was more to this girl and I wanted to find out. I just wasn't sure if Weiss and Yang would be willing.

"You should try lifting a weight," said Yang. "It'd help you grow some meat on your little t-rex arms."

Weiss and Yang continued to go back and forth while I stared at the window the girl went in. She wasn't a bad person and I knew it. Weiss would have been killed if that were the case. I was determined to have her join us.

"We're going to be staying here for the night," I said, cutting off the argument Weiss and Yang were in.

They both stared at me.

"Did you not just see what she almost did to me?" Weiss said. "That girl is a menace and you're an idiot for thinking she'll want to work with us."

"She can't be that bad," I said with a smile. "After all, you were pretty unfriendly to us when we first met."

"I didn't try to kill you either."

"That's a pretty good point," Yang said with a nod of agreement.

"I just think we should find out more about her," I said.

Weiss's disapproving gaze turned into a nasty scowl. "You and _her_ can go," she said angrily. "I'm staying back. Have fun getting your throats sliced."

The rest of the night was pretty tense with Weiss refusing to speak to me. We ended up finding a hotel in the city. It was a beat up old place with probably about twelve other people inside of it. The furniture was moldy and old, elevators would stop working at random, and the beds had mattresses that were hard as bricks. Still, it was the best we could deal with and we settled in as comfortably as we could get. Only Weiss really had the biggest issue with it.

"I'd be better sleeping in the street," Weiss complained as she lay on the mattress.

"Want me to throw you out the window?" asked Yang.

Weiss didn't answer and went began to change into her pajamas.

"Are you ready, Ruby?" Yang asked, attentively watching me.

"Yes," I said with a grin. This plan wasn't the best I had come up with, but the eagerness I felt toward getting this girl to join was enough for me to follow through with it.

"You all have fun committing suicide," Weiss said as she brushed off her pajamas. "I'll be here to claim your bodies."

I didn't say anything as I left but I think Yang gave her the finger before walking out.

The hotel had a main lobby where most of the visitors seemed to spend their time. None of them looked particularly happy to be there. They all had weary faces that looked down at the floor in defeat. I really wanted to try and comfort them, but something else had top priority.

"Excuse me," I said quietly as I approached a group at a table.

They all looked at me with shifty eyes.

"I…uh…"

"My little sister here wants to know if you know anything about the girl hunting down Grimm," Yang said loudly.

This time more heads turned and a man sitting closest to us turned around and faced us.

"Why?" he asked carefully

"Well…I've heard all about her and wanted to know if anyone had more information on her," I said.

His eyes squinted just a tad. "You two Guardians are something?" he asked.

"Do we look like Guardians to you?" Yang asked.

The man looked us up and down. I was a little embarrassed because our clothes hadn't been washed and were torn in several places. Then again, our clothes didn't look all that different from what they were wearing.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell us," I said

"No," he said as he slowly got out of his seat. "I think I'll tell you."

Yang and I raised our heads hopefully. Any bit of information was crucial at this point.

"The girl hasn't been fully seen, but various people have caught sight of her. Those people tend to describe a young girl around your ages in a black body suit and a bow on her head."

"A bow?" Yang asked. "Sounds _bow_ dacious"

The man just stared at her.

"Just ignore her," I said. "Please continue."

"She supposedly lives in an abandoned apartment complex. There are some homeless people who've made it into a shelter to keep them away from the Grimm. Some of them say the girl brings them food and then vanishes into the darkness."

"Is she known to be aggressive?" I asked.

"Sometimes," he said. "The few people she's actually attacked say that she wants to be helpful while keeping an arm's length away from them."

Yang cocked her head. "So what you're saying is that she doesn't like being involved with other people," she said.

The man nodded.

I felt the sinking feeling of defeat sink even further.

Yang probably noticed because she was quick to comment. "I think we should go back," she said.

Most people would have probably taken the sensible route and act on Yang's word. However, I was especially stubborn back then and through practical logic out the window all the time.

"We're still looking," I said.

"You can't be serious—"

"He said she wants to help," I said.

"Yes…but…"

"So there's more to her than we know. Let me meet her one more time. If she says no then we'll turn back and find someone else."

Yang was definitely on the verge of siding with Weiss on this entire search. She was already crossing her arms in disapproval and frowning at me.

"Please Yang," I begged.

She sighed. "Fine. But we should stop trying to make her join if she attacks us again."

I beamed a smile at Yang that must have looked really goofy because she almost laughed when she saw it.


	2. Chapter 2

The building that the girl had hid in was only a block or two away from the hotel. Yang and I both left with our weapons, watching the sky as we made our way to our destination.

"It's pretty depressing here," Yang commented during our walk.

"Yeah," I said absentmindedly. My thoughts were focused almost entirely on the mysterious girl.

"Makes you wonder if what we do as Huntresses isn't enough."

I stopped walked and faced Yang.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well," she said while scratching her forehead, "We fight Grimm over and over, only for them to keep returning. I know there's the freedom and all, but don't you sometimes wish you could do more?"

I stared at her for a moment. Yang was a mystery to me sometimes. She often behaved impulsively and acted at the spur of a moment instead of thinking things out. But sometimes, on occasion, she would say something that would get even me thinking.

"Yes," was my final answer. "I just wish I knew what that was."

Our philosophical question was cut short by our reaching the destination. It looked just as ominous as when we first came across it.

"I'll go in first," Yang said bravely, leaving me no time to even respond. She grabbed hold of the handle and pulled it open with so much force that it broke off the hinges.

"Was that really necessary?" I asked.

"Yes," said Yang. "Trust me. That door would have been really hard for you to open."

I looked at the now unhinged door on the road and couldn't help but feel just a bit insulted. I may not have had Yang's strength but I could at least open a door.

We both walked into a lobby that was dimly lit. Electricity was almost nonexistent in the rest of the city and it was very apparent here. We had to squint just to make out the different shadows we passed.

"Who's there?" someone asked.

Yang and I froze.

"We're Huntresses," I said.

The voice scoffed. "You here to make some easy money off of us, rogue? We don't have any for you. Get out before the night hunter gets you."

"You don't threaten us," Yang said angrily. I gently put my hand on her shoulder so she'd calm down a bit.

"But that's why we're here," I said. "We just want to find out more about her."

The voice was now laughing at us and stepped forward to reveal a man dressed in tattered clothes. He had messy black hair and prominent sideburns. His left leg looked weak, as it slowly slumped behind him when he walked.

"Nobody knows when she appears," he said. "She appears when she wants at any time."

"Well, have you seen her recently?" I asked.

"What makes you think I'm going to answer?" he asked.

"I don't know," said Yang, stepping towards him slowly. "Probably the increasing probability of me spilling your brains all over the floor."

The man stepped backwards and pulled out a gun.

"You really are a violent bunch of rogues," he said harshly.

I was about to say something when a voice interrupted us.

"It's okay, Tukson," said the voice. "Let me talk to them."

We all turned to see the girl from earlier walking right towards us.

Tukson put down his weapon and glared at us.

"I don't trust these people, Blake," he said. "They were probably hired by Atlas for your head," he said through clenched teeth. "Everybody knows that rogues will do anything for money, even become a government lapdog."

"That's enough," said Blake, now standing right beside him. "Leave now and let me talk to them."

Tukson looked at us once more and then walked away. It was now just the three of us in an awkward silence.

"What do you want?" asked Blake. She was now wearing a black zip-up shirt that was much more casual in appearance than the body suit.

"I came to ask if you'd join our Huntsmen team," I said, doing my best to avoid being intimidated by her.

Blake's eyes scanned both me and Yang.

"Where's your friend?" she asked.

"She got scared and stayed back," said Yang with a toothy grin.

Blake looked back at me. There was something about her yellow eyes that sent shivers through my body.

"I don't work with rogues," she said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"You people live off of the miseries of others, exploiting their fears for easy money. You're no better than the Atlas Guardians that you claim to despise so much."

Those words struck a nerve with me for some reason. I wish I could say that I had a good comeback for that, but I just didn't.

"We aren't making any money," Yang said, crossing her arms stubbornly. "Everybody on our team has goals much bigger than money."

"Oh?" said Blake with a mean smirk. "Like what?"

"Like I'd tell you," Yang said with a glare.

Blake sniffed. "Then you really haven't proven anything to me."

"Why do you fight the Grimm?" I asked.

Blake stared at me for a moment, blinking only once.

"Come with me," she said, turning away from us.

I said nothing and began to follow. Yang grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back.

"How do you know she's not sending us into a trap?" she whispered.

"She would have probably attacked us by now if that's what she really wanted," I said. "We're in her environment and probably outnumbered if her friend is a sign of anything."

Yang's eyes softened, but they went hard again looking back at Blake.

"Whatever," Yang mumbled. "But don't be surprised if heads start to roll."

Blake lead us to a flight of stairs that went up numerous floors. She only went up one onto the second floor. We walked in and saw what looked like a former work office that had been converted into a lunchroom of sorts. There were people sitting at desks and eating tiny portions of food in a bowl. At the other end of the room were large tables with bowls of food on them. A sign above read, "Free Food Program."

"What is this?" I asked.

"Tukson and I leave the city every day to hunt the wild animals in the forest," said Blake. "We then bring it back here and distribute it to the people in this building."

"Why _this_ building?" asked Yang. "The entire city doesn't look like it's in the best shape."

"It started out as us helping the faunus minority in the city," said Blake, "But humans who had also suffered under the Grimm attacks later joined as well. We take in anybody who has nothing left to call a home."

I looked back at Blake with a newfound respect. For someone who seemed so cold and uncaring, there was a soft and noble side to her that you couldn't help but admire.

"Faunus?" asked Yang. "You mean the animal-people?"

Blake gave Yang a cold look. "I wouldn't use a dehumanizing term like that, but yes."

"But why go to all this trouble for the people here?" I asked. This question may have sounded like I questioned why anybody would help the cities residents, but it was really just asked to get more information out of Blake. She only seemed to open up when it was an issue she found important.

"Initially it was for the faunus because an already poor community tends to fare even worse when hardship strikes," she answered. "But I help everyone in need. After all, people can only be empowered once everyone unites towards a common cause."

She walked out and made her way towards a group of faunus eating bowls of stew. I hadn't really seen that many faunus growing up, so this was an unusual sight for me. There were people who would probably be considered ordinary humans if it weren't for the animalistic ears or tails I would sometimes notice. They all looked at Blake with warm-hearted smiles. She even returned their smiles with a kind voice that threw me off a bit at first. We watched her interact with the other people as well. They also seemed to hold her in high regard. Afterwards, we went to a corner of the room where there was nobody else around but us.

"Everybody here seems to really like you," said Yang.

"I don't care about that as much as I do about their hospitality," said Blake.

"I wish a certain someone could be as humble as you."

"Why did you show us this?" I asked. The tour was great and it made me see things differently, but I couldn't tell if she was trying to make an argument for why she didn't want to join.

"I wanted to show you that what I do goes beyond making quick money," said Blake. "I fight with purpose and a goal in mind. That's what keeps me moving every day. It's for this very reason that I refuse to join opportunistic Huntsmen."

"What if I told you that we're also similar in that way," I said. "Yang and Weiss—our other teammate—each have something that we're working towards. In the end we all want to better things for everyone."

Blake turned away from me and looked out at the people eating their food. She stared for a very long time. I was actually starting to worry that she'd forgotten we were there.

"I've made my decision," she said.

"Really?" I said while beaming happily. "So you're going to join us?"

"No," Blake said shortly. "I'm sorry, but right now this city and its residents mean too much for me."

I felt my heart sinking through my chest and down to my legs. She seemed like the perfect addition to our team. Quiet enough to complement Yang and tactful enough to avoid ending up like another Weiss. Even her goals and work with the city residents fell in place with what we did, but she didn't want to join and there was no real point in my trying any further.

"Well," I said as I tried to hide my disappointment, "I guess Yang and I should go back to Weiss."

"Shame," Yang said with a half-smile. "I was even starting to like her too."

Blake had Tukson escort us both out the building, making sure that we promised to remain silent about what we'd seen to the other city residents. We both agreed and went back to the hotel in disappointment.

"So I was right all along," Weiss said as soon as she saw us return with Blake absent.

"You have a funny way of saying hello," said Yang.

"And you have a knack for coming back empty-handed."

I groaned out loud and planted my head on the bed's hard mattress. The disappointment was too much to bear. Now I had to listen to Weiss whine and Yang argue with her all the way back.

"So what exactly did happen?" asked Weiss, now sitting on the edge of her bed.

"We met the girl and found out she's not all that bad," said Yang. "She's really passionate about faunus and—"

" _What_?" Weiss asked.

"I said she helps faunus," said Yang.

"I know that," said Weiss. She got up from her bed and walked towards the window. She made an awful scowl at the window.

"Violent creatures," I heard her mutter in disgust.

"uhh…" Yang said awkwardly.

I looked at Weiss in shock. She'd always been a prickly person, but I never took her as one to harbor prejudice. I guess I naively assumed that most people weren't like that.

"Why would you say that?" I asked.

"I've had a bad history with them," said Weiss. "People like to talk about them as if they're completely innocent. Try living with them or being attacked by them. It'll change your perspective fast."

Yang and I didn't know how to respond. We just awkwardly looked around in every direction while pretending that we had things on our mind. The rest of the night was just as strained. We all got ready for bed and slept without saying a word to each other.

The next morning started off pretty bad as well. I awoke to a drop of water falling on my eyelid. My eyes slowly opened to find that there was a giant crack in the ceiling and a leak had begun.

It wasn't long before Weiss woke up next.

"I swear I'm going to murder you both if I end up suffering from hypothermia," she growled as she wiped the water droplet off of her face.

Yang groaned next and rubbed her eyes. "hypo-whatever is the last thing you'll need to worry about if you don't shut up," she said grumpily.

One minute in and they were already arguing. I wasn't in the mood for that. There was a heavy rainstorm going on outside, judging by the sound of rain pounding against the window. This only meant that we would have to wait longer before we could leave. Unfortunately, that wasn't the worst thing to happen for us. There was a frantic knock at the door that startled us all.

"Well?" Weiss said impatiently to me. "Open the door!"

"Why me?" I asked.

"Because it's what you get for putting me on the verge of death three times!"

I wasn't in the mood to argue and opened the door. It was the man we'd talked to yesterday about Blake. His eyes were wide and panicky.

"The rain's caused King Taijitus to come out," he said without stopping to breath. "We're all planning on hiding in the bunker downstairs! Come with us now before they get here!"

"No," I said bravely. "We're staying here to fight."

"What?" asked Weiss.

"Heh," said Yang. "I'm liking the sound of this."

"We are team wry," I said, "and we never back down from a threat."


	3. Chapter 3

King Taijitu are large snake Grimms that consist of a white half and a black half. They're known to arrive in large numbers during rainfall, much like normal snakes. The big difference being that King Taijitu were usually pretty aggressive like every other Grimm.

We all went to the lobby and saw people frantically running down the halls towards the bunker entrance. Most cities in Remnant had bunkers such as this in their buildings for Grimm attacks. Only major cities had any real way to combat them. The rest either relied on Huntsmen or local law enforcement.

"Where are you going?" A hotel employee asked as we ran past him.

"We're going to fight the Grimm?" I answered, preparing Crescent Rose for our encounter.

"He probably thinks we're insane," said Yang as we neared the front door.

"He wouldn't be wrong," said Weiss.

We pushed open the doors and found the city drenched in ferocious rain. It was a lot worse than what we had seen earlier. I had to constantly wipe my face from the rain as it continuously stuck against my face.

"This is going to make things difficult," Yang said as she also wiped the rain from her face.

"We're going to have to do our best and work with it," I said. "It's all we can do."

Our conversation was put to a halt by the sound of a building being smashed. We all jumped at the sound and I even let out a small scream.

"Did a Grimm just break a building?" Yang asked.

I looked in the direction that the sound came from and saw one of the buildings with its top completely mangled. Next to the building was the largest King Taijitu I had ever seen. It was almost as tall as the building itself, which wasn't that much smaller than a skyscraper.

"These aren't ordinary Grimm," said Weiss. "Someone or something must have made them abnormally large."

The implication that somebody could have done such a thing sickened me. Grimm were already dangerous enough as they were. Anybody who willingly made them worse clearly had very little regard towards the innocents they effected.

"We shouldn't let its size intimidate us," I said, feeling my hands shake as they held Crescent Rose.

"I agree," said Yang. "We've fought these things before and it being larger doesn't change how it fights all that much."

"No," said Weiss. "But it does make its normal attacks that much deadlier."

"Let's stop talking and go attack it!" I shouted, darting towards the King Taijitu with my semblance helping me.

Everything around me became a blur when I used my semblance. Buildings, people, even the sky itself became a fuzzy image that sped by as my mind focused on the goal before me. The Grimm grew larger as I reached it. That alone would have sent most people the other way, but it only made me more and more excited. I pulled out Crescent Rose and mounted it onto the street so that I could set it up as a mounted sniper rifle. My ammunition was pretty small. However, enough shots in one of its eyes may have some effect on its eyesight. Whether or not it was a working strategy was something I couldn't spend time thinking about. I just made my aim and pulled the trigger. The shots went right into the left eye on the black half, causing it to shake its head wildly and knock down another part of a building.

"Ruby!" I heard Yang shout as she caught up to me. "You're starting the fun without me?"

"Sorry Yang," I smiled. "First come first serve."

"Looks like you only managed to make it angrier," said Weiss.

"Yeah, but I managed to make it partially blind," I said. "All I can really do is blind one half before attacking it entirely."

"Let me show you how to handle these things," said Weiss. She swung her weapon in a curve and then released a large blast of ice shaped as a spear. The spear had to have been the size of a small car, and she sent it soaring straight into the same eye that I had shot. It made a large squishing sound as it dug right in and penetrated the eye. I could see large droplets of blood falling onto the street.

"Good shot," said Yang. "But now it's my turn to do something."

Yang smirked and ran over to a lamppost. With minimal effort, Yang pulled the lamppost off and held it like a javelin. She then took one step forward and hurled it into the head of the King Taijitu's black half. While it wasn't dead, the spear did cause another bit of damage towards it.

"Looks like this isn't as hard as we—"

Yang didn't get the chance to finish talking. The King Taijitu's white half rammed its head right into her, sending Yang flying across the street.

"Yang!" I shouted.

"Focus on the fight!" said Weiss. "Looking away is what caused her to be attacked in the first place!"

She was sending out ice spears to attack its neck. I could see the Grimm wincing every time she managed to make a shot. For a moment I thought that we would be able to take it down.

"I'm running low on dust!" said Weiss.

"I'll help you out!" I said, blasting as much as I could with the sniper rifle. Shooting at the eyes only made it angrier, as it did the white half. I found myself growing angrier as every shot failed to take it down.

Things were already bad and they got much worse. Another King Taijitu appeared right behind us.

"Ruby!" Weiss said. "I'm completely out of dust!"

"What?" I asked, quickly turning towards Weiss.

I turned just in time to see the Grimm behind her raise its head and then send it slamming on top of her. It was so fast that even I was taken by surprise. Thankfully, Weiss was still standing. However, she looked like she had lost a lot of aura.

"My aura level is at ten," she said, breathing heavily. "I need to get away before—"

The black half of the Grimm was now attacking and it was just as ruthless. It made an attempt to block her, an attempt that failed thanks to Crescent Rose blocking it. My muscles tensed as I felt the fangs pressing against the scythe's blade, causing me to fall back onto the street.

As soon as I landed on my feet, the Grimm opened its mouth and released a string of venom at Weiss. It hit her face and covered it with a strong poison that could kill within a day if not properly treated.

"Weiss!" I shouted, "NO!"

I raced over to Weiss and grabbed her before the King Taijitu could sink its teeth into her. I hid in an alley while the Grimm flickered its tongue in search for us.

"Weiss?" I said frantically, wiping as much poison as I could off her face. Weiss was breathing heavily and irregularly. My arms were trembling as I saw her choking from the poison's effect.

"I'm sorry," I said weakly, feeling the tears already streaming down my cheeks as I held Weiss. "I'm so sorry."

The King Taijitu had found us. I could see its white head sticking into the alley and heading towards us. My arms were too full with Weiss to focus on it. The only option I had was to put her down so I could fight it.

The white half made another dash for me, only to be stopped by a blast to the face. The blast had enough power to send it crashing into the brick wall of a building.

"D-don't forget about me," I heard Yang say.

"Yang?" I asked, feeling my tears falling harder.

"Still a crybaby, huh?" Yang asked, walking towards me with shaky legs. "My aura is almost gone, but that doesn't mean I'm finished. It's going to take more than that to keep me down."

She looked over at Weiss and her increasingly greying face.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Weiss got poisoned!" I said, "I made a stupid mistake and let it happen. I don't know if there's any place here that can help her!"

Yang looked at Weiss in silence. I could tell that she didn't have an answer for me. There were no medics nearby and any place selling antidotes were probably abandoned or nonexistent in the city. I was cold, scared, and sad at the same time. Yang was exhausted and Scythe cuts weren't going to be enough for these Grimm.

"Looks like we don't have much time to plan this out," said Yang.

I looked up after hearing her say that and saw the King Taijitu appear again and bare its fangs at Yang.

"NO!" I screamed, placing Weiss on the street before pulling out Crescent Rose. It was bad enough seeing Weiss suffer, but I wasn't going to lose my sister to those ugly creatures. I stopped the fangs with Crescent Rose, and then took four shots into the roof of its mouth. The King Taijitu shook its head violently in pain, trashing against the nearby building.

"I'm getting us out of here before the buildings collapse," I said.

Yang didn't respond, not that I'd let her say not. She was too low on aura and I wasn't going to risk having her end up like Weiss. I grabbed Yang by her waist and carried her along with Weiss back into the street. To my great misfortune, another King Taijitu had appeared. However, it appeared to already have its hands full. There was a person making quick dashes towards it and shooting multiple rounds into its body. I ran over to where the fight was taking place.

"You…aren't going to destroy this building as long as I'm here," said the person fighting the snake. It was Blake and she appeared to be holding her own. The black half of the King Taijitu had fallen, its head had been almost completely torn apart from slashes. The white half was struggling, but so was Blake. I could see her panting and noticed that she'd shake a little while standing.

"Blake!" I called out. "Why are you fighting the Grimm by yourself?"

Blake turned to me in surprise. "You?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"We chose to fight against the Grimm!" I said while keeping a careful eye on the King Taijitu. "But Weiss got poisoned and Yang's low on aura!"

"Then leave and hide in the bunker!" Blake responded.

"No!" I replied. "You aren't hiding and neither am I!"

Blake dodged an attack from the Grimm and shot at its head with her weapon. "Because I've already prepared to put my life on the line for things I care about," she said. "You're only risking yours for the feel of a challenge."

"It's more than that," I said. "It's about taking steps to rid the world of a threat."

"Well said," Yang said weakly.

"Yang," I said, "please take Weiss and head into the bunker. You're too low on aura to fight and Weiss needs to be looked after. The poison of a King Taijitu gives you twenty-four hours to live before dying, so there's a small chance she could live."

Yang looked down at Weiss and then back at me. "You'd better rip that thing a new one," she said before running off.

I looked back at Yang and smiled. Having her trust me with a battle like this by myself was something she would almost never agree to, and yet she did. Perhaps I was starting to appear more mature in her eyes.

"And now," I said to myself. "I've got a Grimm to kill."

I put on my red hood and smiled. Things were about to get serious.


	4. Chapter 4

My body felt like it was on fire. Every muscle burned with vigor and power. It was the feeling of putting your all into a battle. I held Crescent Rose firmly in my hands and dug it directly into the back head of the King Taijitu. It shook viciously as I refused to release my grip. All the anger I felt over what happened to Weiss and Yang went into this attack. The Grimm's head finally fell after thrashing for a full minute. My lungs felt like they were about to explode, and yet I still felt like I could fight forever.

"We still have two more of them," said Blake. She nodded her head in the direction of the other two King Taijitu we had encountered. Both were already weakened, which meant that it would hopefully not be as bad as it had been earlier.

"Right," I said, "and there are two of us as well."

I thought of Yang throwing the lamppost at the King Taijitu earlier and had an idea. I took a step back and firmly held on to Crescent Rose, eyeing the Grimm's white head. With one powerful step forward, I unleashed Crescent Rose and watched as it spun directly into the Kin Taijitu's head before returning to me.

I was about to take a couple shots when a purple blast hit it in the face. I looked over to see Blake glaring directly at the King Taijitu, holding the katana I had seen earlier. It looked like it also served as a powerful pistol.

"Good job," said Blake, her eyes focused entirely on the Grimm. It waved its head side to side, gradually slowing down.

Without another word, Blake rushed toward the King Taijutu. She then released a shadow of herself that appeared to be on fire. It moved directly into the Grimm's body and let off an explosion that actually managed to send the King Taijitu reeling backwards.

"That was amazing," I said as my jaw hung open in disbelief.

Blake looked at me and almost smiled for the first time. "Don't tell me you can't top that."

I grinned at her. "Just wait and see."

There was still some dust ammunition left, enough to at least kill this Grimm for good. I pulled out a round of electric dust and shoved it inside Crescent Rose.

"This is for Weiss!" I shouted as I released a ball of electricity towards the King Taijitu. It sent a shockwave through its body that made the Grimm's body whip around hysterically before finally dying.

My lungs were burning. Only one King Taijitu had been taken down and my body was already beginning to tire. I looked down at my aura counter and saw that I had about seventy-five percent left.

"There's another coming around the corner," said Blake.

"Let's go fight it in the street," I suggested.

Blake shook her head. "You can. I'm staying here."

"But why?" I asked. It'll be more likely to damage the building if we don't go in the street."

"And who's to say that another won't destroy it while I'm gone?" Blake retorted. "There are people in there who have nowhere to go if that building collapses. I'm the only thing standing between them and the streets of this city. They were struggling before the Grimm tore it apart and they'll struggle even more if they manage to ruin everything!"

I could see the determination in Blake's eyes. She gazed into mine, ignoring the rain as it continued pounding on us.

"Fine," I said. "We'll stay here."

Blake didn't respond. She just turned away and faced the approaching Grimm.

It appeared with its one eye severely damaged. It looked like it was the one Yang had punched earlier. All kinds of different strategies through my head to figure out a way it could be defeated. Maybe some more dust combinations, or perhaps Blake could set off a fire shadow while I added a slice in.

"How strong are you with that scythe?" asked Blake.

I looked down at Crescent Rose. "Strong enough to slice through Grimm," I answered confidently.

"Do you think you could send me towards it?" Blake asked.

"What?"

"I want you to swing me right into the Grimm," said Blake expressionlessly. "I have an idea."

"Okay," I said tensely, fearing that it might not work. "Jump on."

Blake nodded and leapt onto the bladeless side of Crescent Rose. I could feel my arms already shaking from having to carry her added weight.

"Okay," I said, "watch out."

I pulled the trigger and allowed the recoil to strengthen my swing, giving me enough force and power to swing Crescent Rose and send Blake flying.

Blake flung through the air with her weapon out. She fired two shots into the King Taijitu's head, creating a whiplash effect. Next, she took the blade of her weapon and dug it deeply into the underbelly of the Grimm. As she slid down its body, Blake created a long and deep line that mercilessly cut into the Grimm.

"I guess it's time for me to finish it off," I said, putting fire dust into Crescent Rose and quickly releasing a breath of fire that incinerated the Grimm's insides.

The King Taijitu collapsed, no longer moving.

"We're doing it," I said breathlessly. "We're winning."

"Don't be so quick to declare victory," said Blake. "You never know when the tides might turn."

Right on cue came the third and final King Taijitu. It hissed bitterly at us, baring fangs that could easily break through bone.

"Looks like we've upset it," said Blake.

"Sure does," I added, noticing the blasts in the black half's eye.

This Grimm had both of its head and would probably give us some trouble. As impulsive as this sounds, an idea emerged in my head that got me excited.

"There's something I want to try," I said.

"Suit yourself," said Blake, holding her weapon defensively. "I'll be here keeping guard."

I nodded at her and then gave my speed a semblance boost, causing my surroundings to blur and almost inverse as I spun faster and faster in a circle. My feet were pounding the street so hard that I could feel my shins beginning to ache. Finally, I moved in the other direction and watched as a whirlwind formed and knocked into the King Taijitu. It was strong enough to push its white half back a bit, leaving the black half by itself.

"Not bad," Blake said. She pulled out a black ribbon and attached it to her weapon.

"Looks like some unorthodox fighting is in order," said Blake. She swung her weapon around, using the recoil to create stronger attacks that cut away at the Grimm. Unfortunately, they were only tiny cuts that didn't severely damage it.

I glanced down at my aura counter. Only forty-five percent now remained. I needed to be careful so that I didn't end up like Weiss.

The white half of the King Taijitu released a spray of venom at Blake. She reacted by creating a clone made of stone that took the attack entirely.

"Damn these things," she growled. "I'm wasting aura just blocking their attacks!"

It's true that we were. I had to dash out of the way countless times when they tried to slam us with their heads. These things were relentless and wouldn't stop.

"How much dust do you have left?" I asked huffily. I was trying not to over rely on aura to keep my body from fatigue. Using aura continuously often drained it fast and using it to cloak my body from fatigue would definitely drain me.

"Not much," said Blake. "I have a single fire round left."

"And I have an ice one," I said. "Let's use a combo attack."

"Sounds good," said Blake.

The King taijitu made an attempt to slam into us with its black head. Blake and I moved out of the way. While its head was still low, I shot out a large projectile of ice right into its eye. Blake met my attack with another firebomb, erupting it right into the Grimm's other eye. The attack completely crushed both of the King Taijitu's eyes. It hissed loudly and swung crazily around. Blake jumped up and swung her weapon right into the top of its head, and I did the same. Finally, the black half was down.

The white half didn't take long to come after us. It turned on its side and shoved its body right at us. I shot into the street and propelled myself forward while Blake graciously leaped over the body. Everything she did amazed me. She claimed not to be a Huntress and didn't appear to have any military training, yet she was so adept and capable in her fighting. It made me want her to join us even more.

"Cut into its belly," said Blake. "That's its weak spot." She swung her weapon wildly and created a gnash in the Grimm's stomach.

I added my own deep cut into the Grimm. It sent its guts flying out. The stench was so bad that I almost threw up after accidentally inhaling a whiff of it.

"We…did it," I said while breathing heavily. My aura counter now said that I was at twenty percent.

"This is bad," Blake said while also breathing hard.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "We won! They're all dead."

"You haven't been around King Taijitu much, have you?"

I didn't say anything. We'd encountered King Taijitu before, but usually by themselves.

"King Taijitu differ from their non-Grimm counterparts in more than one way," said Blake. "The big one being that they have a leader of sorts whenever they attack."

I heard my heart pounding in my ears. "…What?"

"I'm talking about the Emperor Taijitu," said Blake. "Also known as the Hydra."

Just the name was enough to make me swallow in fear. The King Taijitu were ruthless enough, just how bad would one with several heads be?

It didn't take long for us to find out. The Emperor Taijitu came roaring down the city, smashing down buildings as if they were made of paper. It was just as large as the other King Taijitu we had seen with the big difference being the numerous heads it had. I counted ten heads each, all of them attached to a single body. They were all healthy too without any sign of injury.

"No," I said with great exhaustion. "There's so many of them."

"This is the strategy of the King Taijitu," said Blake. "The smaller one wears you down before the emperor finishes you off. That is if you're even able to make it that far."

"How are we supposed to beat it?" I asked. "Our aura is almost out."

I could see Blake struggling to think of an answer. Her face had become stuck in a frustrated scowl that grew more prominent as she thought harder.

"I…I don't have an answer," was the best she could give.

"We're just going to have to use as little aura as we can while relying more on raw power."

"It's a shame we're already tired from the rest of the fight," said Blake. "Otherwise I'd have more confidence in that idea."

"It's better than giving up," I said.

The emperor Taijitu spotted us and flickered its many tongues.

I mounted Crescent Rose and began firing away. One shot managed to hit the eye on one of the heads, but another came swinging at me. Blake stepped in front of me and cut it with her weapon. Leaving her no time to rest, another head came and went straight for Blake. She jumped away and created a stone clone to block the venom that another head had shot at her.

"This is too much," she groaned. "My aura is at fifteen percent."

The other heads came crashing down, smashing their enormous heads so fast and hard into the street that it sent both Blake and I falling backwards. The nearby buildings creaked loudly as many fell apart from the earthquake the heads created. The building Blake was protecting happened to be one of them. The top half came falling down, exposing the inside.

"NO!" Blake screamed fiercely. She jumped right back up on her feet and dashed towards the Grimm with her weapon continuously swung by the ribbon.

"Blake! Wait!" I called out. There was no way she'd be able to handle that many on her own.

"I'm using up all my aura for this last one!" Blake said. "I don't care what happens to me! I'll do whatever it takes to keep those freaks from killing those I care about!"

Blake roared like a wild animal, clenching her fists and creating several shadows that spread out and formed a large circle around her. It was impressive, but her aura was definitely going to be gone after this.

"I call this the fifty-shadow rush," said Blake. They all moved at the same time towards the Emperor Taijitu with their weapons swinging by the bow. Every single one attacked the main body in unison, creating several vicious slices that sent some heads falling and left the main body as a mangled mess. Once the attack was finished, each of the shadows disappeared until only Blake remained. She fell forward, struggling to lift her self back up.

"I'll get you!" I said, dashing towards her. I noticed that the Grimm now had five heads left. Blake's attack had taken out half of them.

"I'm not hiding," Blake said weakly. "I won't hide."

"You need to!" I shouted.

Blake pushed me away from her. "I've…" she coughed violently, almost falling forward. "I'm not giving up. Hiding means I've surrendered. I can't have that."

Just hearing her speak worried me. You could tell every word took a lot of effort.

"You did great," I said, "But you can't—"

"Don't tell me what I should do!" Blake croaked. She held her weapon in her shaking fist and moved towards the Grimm. It swiftly knocked her directly into the building with one of its heads.

"Blake!" I called out, rushing immediately over to her.

The attack had done a number on Blake. Her entire face had been badly bruised and one of her eyes were now forced shut from the damage. I lifted her head to see if she was still cautious. She fortunately was, but there was something else I saw: Small tears seeping through her damaged eyelids.

"I failed," Blake whimpered. "I let everybody down."

"No you didn't," I said. "You fought for these people until you could no longer stand."

I heard the Emperor Taijitu roaring behind me as I tried to console Blake.

"I'm…I'm really going to die," Blake wheezed. "I…I don't want to die alone."

"You're not," I said, gently placing Blake against the building wall. "Not while I'm here."

I turned around and faced the Grimm. Its heads were all focused on me. My aura was nearly gone as well and my dust ammunition was just about useless. All I had was Crescent Rose and a whole lot of determination.

"You and your Grimm poisoned my friend, attacked my sister, and nearly killed Blake," I said. My fingers wouldn't stop trembling. "I'm not showing you a single bit of mercy."

I roared like Blake did before her ultimate attack. This was taking everything I had. Every swing of Crescent Rose either resulted in a deep cut or a head being sliced off. I no longer paid attention to my fatigue or state of the environment around me. All I had my focus on were the Emperor Taijitu's heads. One after the other came down. My semblance eventually ran out and I found myself dodging the attacks by sheer reflexes and help with Crescent Rose. My head was aching with pain and my muscles felt like they were about to tear off. I didn't care. This Grimm had to go down.

One head finally remained. I kept my eyes focused on it as I held Crescent Rose above my head for one final swing. The Grimm saw my attack and slammed its head right into my stomach. I tried to keep my mouth shut as I felt vomit forcing its way out of my mouth from the attack. With unbelievable power, my body was sent flying right to where Blake had been sent. My back cracked loudly as it smashed against the building.

I wasn't down just yet, however. I could still see and I could still move.

"My friends are counting on me," I said in between coughs. I thought of Weiss and Yang standing beside me. They would have never given up on me, even Weiss. They believed in protecting those they cared about, even if they didn't always show it. My thoughts then focused on Yang and how she'd react to finding me dead. She already struggled with loss and losing me would ruin her. I couldn't do that to people I loved and cared about. It wasn't my time to die.

I stood up on my trembling knees and spat out the blood forming around my gums.

"You…you haven't won," I said in a now raspy voice.

The Grimm's last head came soaring towards me. I looked at it defiantly, preparing to at least dodge it.

My eyes started to burn as the head reached near me. I screamed and clasped my hands against my eyes. They felt like they'd been set on fire. My vision also disappeared as everything around me turned white. This had happened before when I saved Yang's life, and now it was happening again. I didn't know what it was, but it hurt a lot. My scream echoed through my head, causing a convulsion that sent me falling backwards. I opened my eyes a bit before falling unconscious and saw that the Grimm was nothing more than a giant statue.

"W-What…" were the last words I remember saying before everything went dark.


	5. Chapter 5

I awakened to find myself in an unfamiliar place. Everything was dark where I was and my body appeared to be floating. I would move forward by moving my body as if I were swimming, finding nothing but darkness in every corner. The events from my fight with the Grimm were completely forgotten. I couldn't even remember my own existence, and yet this was all acceptable to me. Voices started to echo as I continued making my way forward. They sounded like people I knew. One of them was a girl calling out something. She sounded very concerned, frightened even. I felt bad for this poor girl. Who knew what kind of hardships she may have faced to sound so sad. I moved closer to the sound of the voice. It was starting to become more familiar and clearer.

"….Ruby…..RUBY…RUBY…"

My eyes shot open as I instantly put a name to the voice. It was Yang. Everything started coming back to me: our search in the city, our meeting Blake, and my fight against the Grimm. But where was I? This place was so cold and empty. I started moving closer to Yang's voice. I didn't stop until I found the darkness disappearing as my mind found itself overwhelmed with light.

I opened my eyes once again to find myself resting on a rusty hospital bed somewhere. There were flickering lights over my head that made me blink every time they flashed.

"Ruby!" I heard Yang say with cheerful glee. "You're alive! I was so worried about you that I spent the entire week here waiting for you to wake up!"

"What?" I asked. I tried lifting my head and felt a surge of pain through my entire body. "What happened? Where am I?"

"You beat the Grimm," Yang said with teary eyes and a runny nose. "It was amazing! One of them even turned to stone! I don't know what you did out there, but the people around here are calling you a hero. They'll be just as excited as I am to find out you're okay!"

Yang stood right up and was about to leave when I grabbed her hand.

"What about Weiss?" I asked hoarsely.

Yang's smile faded. "She's…kind of better…"

"What do you mean?" I asked, squeezing Yang's hand. "Is she okay?"

"She was given an antidote," said Yang, "But the size and strength of the venom she received is a lot stronger than the average King Taijitus."

My eyes widened.

"So she's in a coma right now," Yang said warily.

"No," I said in a whisper. "I can't believe I—"

"Don't beat yourself up too badly," Yang interjected. "There's still a way to save her, but it also means we'll have to take a long journey to the city of Vale."

"Why?"

"The Beacon facility is there."

I shifted in my bed so that I could hear Yang better. My hearing had been a little fuzzy from the battle.

"You mean the training facility?"

"Yes," Yang nodded. "They have the only reliable antidote available for Weiss. They also have better medical equipment and you're going to need it. Your entire body got damaged pretty badly. It's a wonder you can even move."

I smiled at Yang. "Nothing stops me once I get determined."

"I know," Yang said with a smile. "It's something I've always liked about you."

"She's awake!" said Tukson, the man who had been working in the same building as Blake. Yang stepped aside as he leaned over me with a wide-eyed grin.

"You have no idea how grateful we are for what you've done!" He beamed. It was so strange to see him smiling at me like a puppy when he had previously threatened to kill me. I managed to give him a half smile.

He was thanking me for saving the city and talking how everyone in the city felt. I can't really recall everything he said because his arrival made my mind immediately think of somebody.

"Where's Blake?" I asked.

Lykson stopped saying whatever he had been saying and looked at me.

"She's been receiving medical aid since the attack," he said while looking solemnly at the floor. "The damage her body took would have killed a normal person. Despite that, she somehow managed to take you to us after your fight against the Grimm."

My eyes widened once again. Lykson could see the surprise on my face and continued speaking.

"It's true," he said. "She knocked on our bunker door with you slumped on her back. We don't know what went on out there, but we could tell by looking at her that those Grimm had been brutal. Her entire body was covered in heavy bruises and she could barely speak. Blake looked about ready to die, but she still had the strength to carry you. She said one thing to us before collapsing: 'Please make sure she lives.' "

I remembered what Blake had said before seemingly passing out. She mentioned not wanting to die alone. Hearing that she had given that order before collapsing made me feel a lump in my throat.

"Let me see her," I said, forcing my body to sit upright.

"You shouldn't push your body too much right now," said Lykson. "We don't really have the best equipment here and your body has several broken bones."

"I don't care," I said gruffly. I could feel my muscles aching as I moved my legs off the bed and onto the floor. "I want to see Blake."

"Ruby," said Yang quietly, "don't hurt yourself. I'll bring you over if you want to."

"Really?"

Yang nodded with a smile and lifted me onto her back. I wrapped my arms around her and felt a singe of pain as I held on tightly.

"You okay up there?" asked Yang.

"Yeah," I said. "As okay as I'm going to be."

"Hold tight," said Yang.

Lykson opened his mouth to talk as he watched Yang carry me out of the room. I looked back and saw him shake his head with a smile.

Yang opened the door and my eyes burned again as the sunlight struck them. A large part of the ceiling had been torn off from the Emperor Taijitus's attack, leaving a gaping hole in the ceiling that let in the sunlight. It hurt my eyes a lot, which was definitely due to me being unconscious for so long.

"Blake's in the room down there," said Yang, pointing to the last room at the end of the hall.

"How many people are here?" I asked.

"Really just you, Blake, and Weiss," Yang responded. "I was here too, but only for a day. It takes more than a Grimm to stop me."

I chuckled lightly at her comment. It was nice to see that Yang could at least make me smile in a time of confusion and pain.

We both slowly opened the door to Blake's room. Unlike me, Blake had left all the lights in her room off. It was a small room that smelled like dirt. I could see some outdated medical machines that shook violently while making loud noises.

"Uh…hey," Yang said while trying to navigate in the dark.

"…What?" came a weak reply. It was almost impossible to hear it over the loud machinery.

"I wanted to talk to you," I said.

No response came.

Yang carried me to the center of the room where Blake's bed was and carefully placed me on the chair. She then pushed me forward so that I could see Blake better.

Blake looked better than when I last saw her, but that didn't mean she looked great. Parts of her face were still a little swollen from the damage she took and her arms and head were connected to the old machines through tubes.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Blake still didn't answer.

"I heard you carried me over to the bunker."

Blake made a low grunt. There was so much more that I wanted to say, but it was hard to get everything I felt out of me when Blake herself didn't even seem interested.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Yang. "Ruby wanted to see you after hearing what you did for her and you won't even talk."

"…I'd like to speak with her alone," said Blake quietly. Her voice sounded a little raspy.

"Why?" asked Yang.

"Yang," I said gently, "maybe it'll make her comfortable."

I heard Yang huff before beginning to walk away. "Take this," she said, shoving a scroll in my hand. "Just let me know when you're done."

"Thank you," I said as Yang walked away. She never did particularly enjoy being left out of the conversation. I couldn't blame her for getting annoyed either. Blake spoke very bluntly in a monotone voice that made her seem standoffish.

Blake waited until she heard Yang open the door and close it again. It was now just the two of us in a room of darkness.

"Thank you," Blake finally said.

"No," I said with a shake of my head. "Thank _you_. You carried me on your back after being flung against the building. Why did you do it?"

"You remind me of when I was younger," Blake said. "There was once a time when I thought I could save the world by fighting evil. I gave up that sort of thinking years ago when I went out into the world. Over time I came to believe that my older thoughts were nothing more than the dreams of a child."

My eyes were glued to Blake. Every word sounded like it hurt to say.

"And yet there's something about you that makes me believe that I can still make an impact in some way. Seeing you take down those Grimm in the way that you did was something I would have never believed, but it happened and I saw it."

Blake's voice had started to choke up. I could hear her starting to sniffle as well. "What you did out there could only be described as a miracle. It made me think that if you can achieve the impossible…then maybe…maybe my own dreams can someday be achieved."

Blake was now crying. I smiled as I heard her struggle to regain her composure.

"Damn it," she grumbled. "This is the second time you've seen me like this. I usually manage to stay composed, but for some reason I just can't right now."

"It's okay," I said. "You can be yourself around me. I'll never judge you for how you look or sound."

Blake let out a light gasp and quivered a little.

"You…You don't mean that," she choked.

"But I do," I said. "Everybody on our team has a flaw that people judge them for. Yang has an awful temper, Weiss can be a brat, and I'm awkward. People have judged us for how we act and look. That's why I also believed that you were a good person, even if you tried to hide it by acting distant."

"I want you to feel my head," Blake said, regaining her composure.

I blushed at her proposal. "Uh…Why—"

"Just do it."

I extended my hand and felt the top of her head. All I could feel was the smooth texture of her wavy hair. My fingers slid across her head until they bumped into something else. It had a different texture from Blake's hair and twitched a little when my fingers brushed it. I felt around some more until my fingers touched against something that felt like skin. That's when it struck me. These were cat ears. Blake was a faunus.

"Now do you see why I'm reluctant to believe you?" Blake asked. "I'm a faunus. With ears and funny looking eyes."

I took my hand off of Blake's head and looked at her through the sliver of light in the room.

"A part of me wants to join your team," she sniffed, "but I'm not like you and your team."

Blake stopped speaking for a moment and then spoke again with a calmer voice. "I'm a freak in the eyes of many. Your teammates have probably said something nasty about us in the past."

My mind flashed back to what Weiss had said. I could only give Blake a glum expression.

"I wouldn't be accepted." Blake took a deep sigh. "However, I appreciate all that you and your team did for the city. Thank you for everything."

I said nothing as I looked at Blake. She clearly had a number of experiences in her life that she kept bottled inside. I was only seeing a little bit of how they shaped her outlook on life.

"I'll stay here with the people," Blake stopped speaking and squeezed her face, fighting back the tears that had begun to return. "Perhaps we'll meet again when I'm off on—"

"You've already joined us as far as I'm concerned," I said loudly. "Faunus or not, you're still my friend and that's really all that matters to me. I'll even keep your secret from Weiss and Yang if you want."

Blake couldn't contain herself anymore. The tears came pouring out as her head slowly nodded in approval.

All the pain I felt in my body seemed to temporarily disappear as I felt happiness overwhelm it. I leaned forward and wrapped Blake in the tightest hug I could give.

"I won't let anything happen to you," I said. "We're friends from this point on."


	6. Chapter 6

The building that the girl had hid in was only a block or two away from the hotel. Yang and I both left with our weapons, watching the sky as we made our way to our destination.

"It's pretty depressing here," Yang commented during our walk.

"Yeah," I said absentmindedly. My thoughts were focused almost entirely on the mysterious girl.

"Makes you wonder if what we do as Huntresses isn't enough."

I took out my scroll to contact Yang. She responded almost immediately.

"So?" she asked. "What did the ray of sunshine want?"

"She's our new team member!" I squealed.

"What?" Yang asked, her eyes bugging out. "Really?"

"Yes," I said, "and she's going to Vale with us!"

"Vale?" I heard Blake ask.

"Oh yeah," I said, turning my head to her. "We're going to Beacon so that we can help Weiss out. They have the antidote that we need there."

Blake stared at the ceiling without saying a word.

"Well, you'd better put that plan on hold for just a bit," said Yang.

"Why?"

"The people in this city have been talking about you for the past week. You're their hero and they want to thank you."

I had completely forgotten about that. There was probably a lot that needed to be done before we left. A part of me wanted to go to Vale right now, but another part couldn't resist the temptation of food that most likely awaited me. After all, food and parties usually followed big events.

"Do you want to come out and greet the city's people?" I asked Blake.

"That would be nice," she said with a weak smile.

"I'll ask mutton chops if he'll help out," said Yang. "No way am I carrying both of you on my back."

I laughed softly. "I wouldn't have you do that anyway."

I then turned off the scroll and smiled at Blake.

"They'll probably want to celebrate you as well," I said.

"Maybe," Blake said impassively. "But I personally don't want to be celebrated."

"Why?"

Blake took a deep breath. "Because I don't and never will consider myself a hero. I see myself as less of a hero and more of a cog in the never-ending machine of progress. My contribution may play a part, but my end goal requires the workings of many before it becomes something more."

A part of me wanted to smile at her serious words. Even when hospitalized, Blake still managed to speak passionately. I personally could have listened to her talk for hours, just because I found her desire for justice touching.

The door to Blake's room opened and Yang stepped in with Tukson.

"Okay you two," said Yang, "time to get out of the darkness and back into society."

"Tukson," Blake said as he approached her. "I've decided that I want to join their Huntsmen team."

Tukson smiled. "Somehow I knew you would." He gently lifted Blake out of the bed and held her in one arm. "Now let's go see everybody else."

Leaving the hospital and stepping back into the city was like entering another world. Buildings were destroyed, large segments of the street had been torn up, and there were massive bloodstains left over from the Grimm attack. I could see the stone statue that Yang had mentioned in the distance. It still bothered me that I was the one who had done that. There was only one other time in my life when my eyes burned the way that they did. I was so young at the time and thought that I had just been hallucinating. Now there was very clear evidence that I had done that. But how?

"The city's heroes have returned!" Tukson announced in a thunderous voice. The few people walking on the streets turned their heads and cheered with delight. Their cheer grew louder as people stuck their heads out from their windows to see us. Doors began to open as entire groups ran out to see us in massive numbers. A large mob soon formed around us. People from around the city were cheering and thanking Blake and myself for what we had done.

"Looks like you two are quite popular here," said Yang with a smile. "Even I didn't get a welcome this large."

I found myself wrapped in the arms of several people as they carried me out into the cities center. It felt nice to see so much happiness in the face of devastating destruction.

"Thank you so much for everything!" said one person.

"We thank you with everything we have!" said another.

I felt very flattered by their words and smiled at every person who either shook my hand or said something.

"Is this the shadow girl?" somebody asked, carefully lifting Blake up as others collectively held her up. I'd forgotten that Blake had been a mystery to the people of the city for so long. This was probably their first time seeing her.

"Y-Yes," said Blake quietly.

"She helped the living miracle take down the Grimm!" somebody said.

The crowd started to barrage Blake with cheers and hugs. I could tell that Blake didn't like any of the attention given to her. She would squirm with every hug and receive every handshake with a wry smile. The hugs and cheers lasted for a very long time as Blake and myself were paraded through the streets. It stands out to this day as one of the more memorable moments in my life.

After all the celebrating had taken place, Blake and I were escorted into the room where Weiss was resting. She looked like a statue when I saw her. Both her eyes were wide open and her lips were partially open. I stared into her bright blue eyes and saw wide-eyed fear. The Weiss I knew would always show a calm and collected face during some of our worst moments. To see her looking so vulnerable and scared disturbed me.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you better," I said while gently touching Weiss's hand. It felt so cold.

"This is the girl I threatened to kill when we first met, isn't it?" asked Blake.

I nodded. "Her name is Weiss Schnee."

Blake's eyes lit at the mention of her name. "Did you say…Schnee?" she asked.

"Yes. Why?"

Blake jerked her head in Weiss's direction and continued to stare. Her eyes didn't blink the entire time. "You said she assisted you in helping me?" Was all she had to say.

"Of course," I said. "Weiss likes to pretend that she's apathetic, but I know she cares about others just as much as we do."

Blake continued staring at Weiss, her gaze shifting from a slight glare to sudden confusion. Then without explanation, Blake covered her face with her hand and chuckled.

"What's funny?" I asked, eyeing Blake suspiciously.

"Nothing," Blake said with a shake of her head. "Once in a while I come across something or someone who challenges my outlook on certain things. It makes me realize how juvenile some of my previous beliefs were."

I nodded at Blake, even though I had no idea what she was talking about at the time.

I noticed that Weiss was being kept alive by smaller medical machines than what Blake had. They looked like they were more recent, lacking the dents or scratch marks that Blake's machinery had.

"How are we going to get all of us to Vale with these injuries?" I asked.

My answer came in the form of a loud coughing noise. Tukson had apparently been listening to us from outside the door. He walked inside with a wide grin.

"We have an old transportation vehicle you can use," he said. "It's a little beat up, but it has enough fuel to reach Vale. In the past, Blake and myself used it to collect food. However, I think your team needs it more than I do."

I smiled widely at Tukson. "You really mean it?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied. "I feel guilty for not having a reward to thank you with. Maybe this will do."

"Please," said Blake. "You don't have to reward us for anything. We were only doing what was right."

"I know that," said Tukson. "And that's why I want to reward you anyway. It's my way of showing you just how happy the citizens and I are with what you two have done."

"Thank you," Blake and I said softly.

"RUBY!" I heard Yang roaring from down the hall. "Where did you go?"

"It looks like your sister is waiting for you," Tukson smiled.

I cocked my head. "You know Yang is my sister?"

Tukson chuckled. "Of course I do. She gave me and everyone else around the city company for the past week. We haven't laughed so hard in a long time. She's going to be missed."

"RUUUBYYYYY!" Yang shouted even louder.

"I'm here!" I yelled. I winced after hearing the volume of my own voice. Weiss was probably screaming inside for us to be quiet.

"Oh!" yang said with a smile. She stepped into the room and looked right at Weiss. "She's still not doing too well, huh?"

"No," I said, "but Tukson here is going to give us a transportation vehicle."

"Looks like you have a soft side after all, huh big guy?" Yang said playfully while smirking at Tukson.

"uh…yes," Tukson said bashfully. "Now let's go to the vehicle. But first, there's one thing I must ask. Can any of you drive?"

I looked at him blankly and then looked at Yang.

"I can ride a motorcycle," she said.

Tukson frowned.

"I could give it a try," said Blake timidly. "I've watched you enough times to get the feel of it."

"Feeling and actually doing it are two very different things," said Tukson.

"Then why don't you join us for now?" I suggested. "We need someone to look after Weiss anyway if we're ever caught with Grimm.

"I don't know about that," said Tukson. "The people here still need me. I couldn't just leave them on their own."

He stroked his forehead thoughtfully for a few seconds and then abruptly stopped after twenty seconds.

"You," he said, pointing at Yang. "I'll teach you the basics. Come with me."

"You sure?" asked Yang. "Don't I need a license and all?"

"Yes," he said. "But that takes too much time. Come with me."

Yang and Tukson continued to debate over the idea while I was left behind with Blake and Weiss.

"So," I said to Blake as soon as the others left. "Do you still want to come?"

"Yes," said Blake. "I want to see the kind of future we can help to create."

Tukson spent the day teaching Yang how to operate the vehicle while the city treated us to more food than I'd ever seen before. There were so many cookies that I ended up giving myself a stomachache after eating three platefuls.

"How do you manage to eat so much without ever exploding?" Blake asked, her eyes fixated on the cookies as I swallowed each of them whole.

"I was just blessed with good metabolism," I said with my mouth full. Crumbs would fall out and spill on the table with every word I spoke.

"You really are a mystery," Blake said, giggling slightly. Hearing her giggle took me by surprise. As awful as it sounds, a part of me didn't think Blake could even laugh. She always looked like she had something terrible on her mind, and maybe she did. But even those in the worst situations can find something to give them hope. I was hoping that maybe being part of our team could help in its own way.

We waited until night before we left to leave. The people would most likely create a lot of fanfare over our departure, and we couldn't really afford to spend more time with them. Weiss needed the antidote as soon as possible.

Blake and I stood outside the hospital building until Tukson arrived with Yang. The vehicle was large and bulky. It moved at a speed faster than Bumblebee, but slower than an air bus. Still, we had nothing else and it would have to do.

Yang's driving made me a bit nervous the first time I saw it. She would steer in the wrong direction, and then jerk in the right one at various speeds. I really hoped that this sort of reckless driving wouldn't have any side effects, but that was very wishful thinking.

The door to the vehicle opened and Yang stepped out wearing drivers' goggles.

"Well?" she asked proudly, her hands confidently placed on both hips. "What do you think?"

I gave her a thumb up while forcing myself to smile.

Blake only looked on with a frown on her face.

"It's a good first step," said Tukson, "but you need a lot of practice."

"Good thing we're taking a long trip," said Yang.

I felt my stomach turn.

"Don't worry," Blake said. I turned and saw her smiling at me. "We should be able to make it through this."

"I sure hope so," I said to myself.

Blake and I had been placed in mechanical wheelchairs that were operated through the press of buttons. It felt so strange being placed in such old technology. I remember oogling the wheels and rusty metal of the chair itself. Pressing the buttons and moving was also really fun. I would press a button, feel the chair move forward, and then do it again. I think I did that five or six times before Yang shouted.

"Ruby! Are you coming in or not?"

"Yes," I said, slowly making my way to the vehicle. Weiss was being carried in a special stretcher that had the necessary equipment attached to it. Tukson advised us to keep it running at all times, otherwise Weiss's health would suffer as a result.

I sat in the vehicle and looked around. It was very wide and had a small table in the center of it, along with some screens. There was a single bed built into one of the walls. That bed by itself would probably be the source of many arguments during the trip.

I looked outside one of the windows at the now empty city. The people had been exhausted from the celebrations and plans had been made to rebuild it over time. I hoped to visit again and see how things had changed. As we parted ways, Tukson waved to us with a cheery grin.

"Take care, Blake," he said as she continued to wave. "I hope your adventures lead you to accomplishing all that you wish to."

"Thank you," Blake whispered, her face almost touching the window.

"Well," said Yang. "Time for us to reach Vale!" She shifted the vehicle so hard and fast that I almost fell out of my chair, grabbing onto the arms of it so that I wouldn't fall on my face.

"Do you think you could be a little more careful?" I asked.

Yang smirked. "With practice I will."

And off we went towards Vale. Our team now fully assembled. I began to wonder about our new team as the city started to disappear from sight. What would we call ourselves? We were team WRY for a while, and that was mostly because none of the other possible names made sense. But now we had a 'B' with Blake's addition. I switched around a couple ideas before a light went off in my head.

"Team RWBY," I said, my smile growing wider as I heard myself say the new name of our team.

"Pardon?" asked Blake.

"That's the name of our new team," I said.

"Team Rwby…" Blake muttered to herself. "You're naming it after yourself?"

I nodded.

"You really are a character," she said with a smile. "I have a feeling that my life is never going to be the same after this."

"Me too."

The End

Author's Note: Well that was a fun little story. I'll be stopping by this story every once in a while to patch some things up like grammar and narrative flow.

I enjoyed writing this and have come to appreciate Blake more as a character. There really is quite a bit you can do with her character, given her passion towards certain issues and character quirks.


	7. Chapter 7

Enter Blake Belladonna: Part 2

It had been a day since Blake joined Team RWBY and I was beyond ecstatic. I'd turn my head every so often just to see her and remind myself that she was officially part of our team.

"How long do you think it'll be until we get there?" I asked.

"You ask this question every five minutes," Yang groaned. "Multiply that by six-hundred and you've got your answer."

Blake looked at me and smiled, "I think it'll take another six hours," she said. This vehicle isn't the best and the terrain can get pretty rough when reaching Vale."

"You know a lot about the world, huh?" I asked innocently.

Blake nodded and smiled softly at me. "I've…been around," she said. Blake looked over at Weiss, lying unconsciously with medical equipment attached to her body. The hydra was a ferocious Grimm that covered her in layers of poison. I don't think she would have lived if we took too much time to defeat it. Things just weren't the same without her occasional remark, even though Yang complained about it a lot.

I was still strapped in the chair that had been given to me after having my spine and body shoved around by the Hydra. It was a pretty unpleasant experience to feel a sharp pain every time I tried ot move my body. All I wanted to do was jump around and have fun without worrying about the pain.

"Hey! Look outside!" I heard Yang shout out to us. Blake and I both turned our heads to see a landscape that was entirely covered in red. We had just reached Forever Fall.

"It's so pretty!" I said excitedly, moving my chair to the window so I could see better.

"It is quite a sight," said Blake quietly.

"Come on up, Blake!" I called out. "You don't want to miss this."

"Okay…" I heard Blake say weakly. She walked right next to me and looked out the window with no expression. The incredibly bright red leaves and grass mesmerized me. It was strange to me that Blake wouldn't show even the smallest level of interest.

"Is something wrong?" I asked Blake.

Blake turned her head down and shrugged her shoulders.

"It's nothing," she said. "I…just need to go sit for a moment."

I watched her with my head cocked, trying to figure out what could be bothering her. My only guesses were that she was either sad about leaving her other friends or ran into Grimm here when she was younger. Speaking of Grimm, it didn't take long for us to feel something knocking against the vehicle.

"Looks like we're being ambushed by a herd of Beowolves," said Yang. "You all can wait here while I punch some faces in."

"I'd like to fight as well," said Blake.

"You?" asked Yang. "Sure you aren't hurt after that attack earlier? You did take a Grimm to the face."

"I could ask the same of you."

Yang smirked at Blake and chuckled. "I like you. You're straight to the point. So you ready to beat the shit out of some Grimm?"

Blake nodded.

"Then let's go!" Yang shouted. She and Blake jumped out of the vehicle and charged at the Beowolves. I looked over at Weiss as they ran out. She was breathing heavily and hadn't opened her eyes yet. Vale was sure to have everything we needed for her recovery. I just hoped we'd get there in time.

Yang and Blake were like long-time partners with the way they coordinated their attacks. Blake made the first attack with several slashes with her weapon as Yang stood behind her and finished off the Beowolves with several blasts from her gauntlets. Each of them reeled backwards as her dust made contact with their bodies.

Blake moved so quickly and gracefully. Every dodge and blitz looked like part of a stage performance. Yang, on the other hand, went in with brute force and punched through the Grimm like they were made of paper. It was interesting to see how two different people complimented each others fighting style so well.

Less than a minute had passed and the Grimm were nothing more than clouds of evaporating black dust.

"Whew!" I heard Yang say, "Well that was ruff."

Blake nodded and said, "Indeed it was."

Yang looked at Blake expectantly, her neck craning forward with every passing second.

"What are you doing?" asked Blake once Yang's face came uncomfortably close to her own.

"Did you get it?" Yang asked.

"Get what?"

"It was ruff…. you know? Like a dog? Ruff ruff?"

Blake shook her head and walked away.

"Come on! You have to admit that was a good one!"

I looked at Weiss and said, "We'll make sure you recover safely. I have faith in us."

"Whooo!" I heard Yang say as she jumped back into the vehicle. "Well, that's one way to have a welcome party!"

"You were great out there!" I said to Blake. She nodded and sat herself down. I still couldn't figure out why she was acting so strangely all of a sudden. She'd been quiet during the trip but this sudden drop in mood was something I hadn't seen.

"Something wrong with you?" Yang asked as she wiped some sweat off her forehead. "Not that you were a chatterbox before, but you're even more reserved than before."

"It really isn't anything," said Blake. "I promise. I just have a lot to get used to, being away from people I knew takes time to get used to."

"Don't worry!" I said with a pat on her shoulder. "We won't bother you anymore about it if that's what you want."

"Thank you," said Blake.

"Hey!" We heard a voice shout from outside.

"Ugh! What is it now?" Yang moaned. She stuck her head out of the vehicle and shouted, "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US!"

"We're the border security of Vale," said a voice from outside. I moved towards the window and saw a man dressed in grey. Behind him were more people in grey suits.

"We've been experiencing several ambushes from the White Fang and have amped up security to clamp down on them," said the officer.

"White Fang?" I asked to myself. "What's that?"

"They're the special forces of Menagerie," said the officer. "They've become increasingly aggressive since Sang Ghari overthrew the chief of Menagerie."

My head jerked up at the mention of Menagerie. That was known as the Island of Fuanus. It was a relatively peaceful place for the most part but news of it becoming more aggressive had started to appear.

"So you just want to inspect this piece of junk and see if we're hiding weapons or terrorists in there?" asked Yang. "Go ahead. But you'll find that it's all just a waste of time."

I was going to tell Blake that we needed to stop and wait for them to inspect the place but she was nowhere to be found.


	8. Chapter 8

"Where did Blake go?" I asked out loud. Weiss was still in her corner but I couldn't see Blake anywhere. It was as if she just vanished all of a sudden.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted as she approached me, "What are you doing?"

"I can't find Blake," I whispered.

"What?"

The officer from outside climbed into the vehicle and briefly looked around. "You're right," he said. "There really isn't much of interest here."

"See?" said Yang. "You could have saved us a lot of time by not barging in like this!"

"It's standard procedure," said the officer. "And what's that over there?" He pointed over to where Weiss lay unconscious.

"That's our friend," I said. "We're trying to reach Vale so we can heal her. That's why we're in such a hurry!"

The officer walked over to Weiss and stared at her for a few seconds.

"This looks like Weiss Schnee," he said.

"You've heard of her?" I asked.

"Of course," the officer laughed. "The Schnee family is probably one of the most prolific in Remnant. You'd have to be pretty far removed from society not to know who they are."

I couldn't help but wonder if that was a dig at me.

Two more officers entered the vehicle and looked around at just how empty it was.

"This thing looks like it died five years ago and then reluctantly came back to life," said an officer.

"Anything of interest in here?" asked the other officer.

"Weiss Schnee of the Schnee Dynasty is apparently in critical condition," said the officer inspecting our vehicle. I assumed he was their superior or something like that. "There's nothing else of notice besides some low-caliber weapons—"

"EXCSUE ME!" I shouted, making sure to give him my best death glare. "CRESCENT ROSE IS NOT A 'LOW-CALIBER' WEAPON!"

"No need to get defensive over that," the officer shrugged. "And what put you in that chair?"

"Oh this?" I looked down at the chair I was strapped in. It probably did look pretty strange to see me confined to this thing, especially as I kept blowing off energy every time I spoke. "I got into a fight with a Hydra Grimm and nearly died. That's how Weiss ended up like that too."

"I survived the entire thing and kicked ass like a champion," said Yang with a huge grin.

The head officer ignored Yang entirely and focused on me.

"YOU fought a hydra?" he asked in disbelief.

I nodded.

The head officer looked me up and down, eyeing every piece of clothing and whatever else he could find on me.

"You're…an unusual group…." He finally said. "Do the two of you plan on heading to Beacon?"

"Of course!" said Yang with another big grin. "The four of us are going to become Huntreses!"

He raised an eyebrow at us. "Four of us?" he asked. "I only see three of you."

I was really starting to worry about Blake. She was a shy person, but I didn't think she had social anxiety like this, especially seeing how she was able to lead the Faunus back at the city.

"Excuse me," said a very tired sounding voice from behind us. I turned and saw the storage trunk open with Blake walking out. She was wearing Yang's pajamas and had her hair tied back in a ponytail. The bow was accompanied by a sunhat that Weiss had brought along with us. She looked really weird and had a very droopy expression as she spoke. Her eyes weren't even open all the way.

"And who is this?" asked the head officer.

"That's… Blake…," I said while trying to figure out what was going on.

"She's a little odd," said Yang.

"No kidding," said the head officer. He looked at Blake a little more and sighed. "You're all an odd bunch, but I have no reason to suspect any of you. We'll escort you to Vale ourselves and you can decide what to do from there."

"Thank you so much!" I said with a big smile.

"No problem," said the head officer. "I'd like you to take these with you." He handed me two posters. One had a picture of a faunus and the other was a sketch of a faunus that sort of looked like Blake.

Yang looked at the posters from over my shoulder. "Who are these people?" she asked.

"Those are the White Fang militants that attacked a cargo train carrying dust from the Schnee Dust Company," said the officer. "We've already identified one of them as one of the White Fang's four commanding officers: Adam Taurus. He's a dangerous person and part of the White Fang's old guard alongside Sienna Kahn. A young faunus was reported as well but we don't have very reliable eyewitness accounts on her. We're trying to find more information on their whereabouts in order to crack down on these attacks."

I could see Blake pretending to fall asleep on the floor. Her eyes continued to remain half-open. The girl on the poster had eyes that matched Blake's almost exactly. I couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling as I stared at it longer.

"But don't worry too much about them," said the head officer. "Their raids have almost entirely focused on cargo trains. The four of you should be fine."

"Thanks again," said Yang as the other officers left the vehicle.

"You hear that Ruby?" she asked excitedly. "We're getting escorted to Beacon! I can't wait to stroll the city at night and crack some skulls while I'm at it….Ruby?"

"I-It's nothing," I said. There was something about the posters resemblance to Blake that really rubbed me the wrong way. I just didn't think that confronting her about it with Yang around would help. I planned on asking her about it later when it was just the two of us. Now was the time to celebrate. We were finally going to arrive in Vale and eventually Beacon.

I still remember the excitement I felt after seeing a beam of light shining through the treetops of Forever Fall. My face pressed against the window to get a better view of the city I'd heard so much about. Vale was a gorgeous sight. It reminded me a little of Patch with its old-timey architecture, but I also felt the city vibe with the lights illuminating every corner. There were so many people walking around that it blew my mind. This was nothing like the city I had been to earlier. This one was much healthier and people seemed content with their lives.

"We made it!" I said cheerfully.

"And it only took us who knows how long just to get to this point," Yang laughed. "Such is the life of adventure!"

"It is really pretty," said Blake. She was dressed back in her ordinary clothes and eyes open wide once again. I noticed a small frown on her face.

"Look, Ruby…I'm sorry about earlier," said Blake.

"I actually wanted to ask you about that," I said. "This girl on the poster looks a lot like you. Were you involved in this? I won't be upset if you are. I just really want to know. You can trust us."

Blake looked at the poster in my hand and then into my eyes. I could see myself staring back at her, pleadingly waiting for an answer. She then opened her mouth and answered with a silent, "no."

"Thank you," I sighed. "That's all I wanted to hear. See? Doesn't it feel good to trust us?"

"Yeah…" said Blake.

"Let's not waste anymore time," I said with an arm wrapped around Blake's shoulder. "We're going to Vale!"


	9. Chapter 9

My face glowed as I observed the sheer size and wonder of Vale. There were so many different roads that led to several different buildings. I wanted to run inside every single one and explore. We had nothing like this back on Patch. The closet things were the ports that housed some large buildings, but even those didn't come close to what I was seeing now. My eyes just wouldn't unglue themselves from the buildings that illuminated the entire city.

"This place is enormous!" I said out loud.

"Sure is," said Yang. "There are a lot of different things to do here."

I suddenly remembered that this wasn't Yang's first time here. She'd actually been spending a lot of time in Vale for the past year or two. My father and I weren't really sure what she did while there. Yang only told us that she had some growing up to do. We weren't really told anything else beyond that.

"Guys?" said Blake. I saw that she returned to her droopy appearance once again. She looked so weird with that sunhat covering her head in the middle of the night.

"Did you just get baked while we were out here?" Yang laughed. "You looked like you just took two hits in one breath."

"Uhhh…. maybe," said Blake.

"I really don't know what to think of you," said Yang.

I didn't say anything and only stared. Something was really off with Blake. I wondered why she didn't just wear the black bow to hide her ears.

"We've got your friend here," said one of the officers. He and a couple other officers were carrying Weiss on a stretcher that they had in one of their vehicles. The stretcher they had was a little larger and didn't look as stiff.

"Vale General is right there," said the head officer. He pointed us to a building on our left that was brightly lit with sign resembling a red cross. "You should probably go in there to get yourselves fixed up before exploring the city."

"We'll make sure to do that," I said with a smile. "Thanks again!"

"Glad to help!" said the head officer. He left with a couple of vehicles following behind.

"So should we go inside then?" asked Yang. "He's probably right about us getting help for you and Weiss."

"Sure," I said reluctantly. My back still hurt a lot and Weiss needed help, but the urge to explore was just too strong. I wanted to run across the cityscape with Crescent Rose assisting me in reaching rooftops. Sitting for hours in a hospital was not something I wanted to do at all.

The three of us walked in while pushing Weiss in her stretcher. I was almost taken back by the glass doors automatically opening for us. Doors in patch were usually carved from wood and filled with splinters. Something like this completely blew my mind.

"Did you just see that?" I gasped.

Yang raised her eyebrows at me. "You can't be serious," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"It's an automatic door," she sighed. "They're all over the place here."

"I know but that's still really cool to me!"

"Ruby…." Yang sighed. "You have a scythe that turns into an assault rifle and it's automatic doors that amaze you?"

"Yup yup" I nodded.

Yang shrugged as we walked in. There was a large desk in front of us. To the left and right of the desk were large doors that led to different hallways. The lady at the front desk looked at us with a bored expression.

"I'm assuming you're all here for an emergency of sorts," she said in an equally expressionless tone.

We nodded our heads.

"Okay," she said. "Let me notify the doctors." She then pointed at Yang and Blake before adding, "You two can sit over there while they're being worked on."

Yang looked over at Blake and watched as she continued to act like someone in a daze.

"I'll be okay," I said to Yang with a smile on my face.

"I know you will," said Yang. "I'm more worried about being stuck with the humorless wonder over there."

"You two can be friends," I said. "All you need to do is talk to each other!"

Yang snorted a little at my suggestion.

"Excuse me!" said a voice from behind. I looked and saw a doctor with two nurses at his side. One of them went towards Weiss and the other towards me.

"We'll be treating you right now. It looks like you suffered quite a few injuries," said the doctor. I waved goodbye to Yang and Blake as they brought me into the emergency room with Weiss.

Yang sat awkwardly in her seat, her eyes looking for something to entertain her. The television above her was only showing the news and that stuff bored her. It didn't help that Blake was just awkwardly sitting next to her and hadn't said a thing. Then again, perhaps Ruby was right about getting to know Blake a little better. Yang just needed to say the right things.

"So why are you wearing that stupid hat?" asked Yang, immediately realizing that she probably hadn't used the best opener.

"Because I like it," said Blake. "It keeps my head cool and hides my eyes from other people.

Yang's eyebrows rose. "Do people usually give you a hard time about your eyes?"

Blake nodded slowly. "Yes," she said. "It's why I don't enjoy making eye contact with people. You can never be sure who is or isn't going to respond well."

Yang looked down at the floor and said, "well I think they're kind of cool."

Blake continued to look straight ahead and said, "Thank you."

"I'll tell you something I don't usually tell other people." Yang looked to her left and right. She then got up on her knees and pressed her face closely to Blake's ear. Blake shifted uneasily in her chair as she felt Yang's hand cup over her ear.

"Do you really need to do that?" she asked.

"Sometimes I get insecure over being top heavy," Yang whispered.

Blake had nothing to say in response. She just gave a muffled, "uh-huh" and stared down at the floor even harder.

The doctors strapped me onto a bed and stuck small needles into my skin. I gasped at first as warm sensation filled my fingertips. It only lasted there for a few seconds before reaching every other part of my body.

"We're inserting donated aura into your body," said the doctor. "This is a recent procedure that we've learned from the brilliant doctors in Atlas. They've learned that inserting excess aura into the human body will allow injuries to heal at a faster rate. You took quite a bit of damage from the looks of it. We'll only need to keep you here for the night while we work on correcting your spine. It looks like you cracked it in a couple places. "

"What about Weiss?" I asked.

"She'll be fine," the doctor said with a smile. "We're giving her the right antidotes in order for her to be ready by tomorrow. "

I smiled at the idea of Weiss and I being able to travel along with the others once again.

"Do you mind if we bring another patient in here while for the night?" the doctor asked.

The aura made my body feel so warm and relaxed that I just nodded without even thinking about his question.

"That's great!" the doctor said. "We'll bring him in right now."

I was just humming mindlessly to myself when I heard someone screaming as loudly as they could.

"IT HURTS SO BADLY!" He shrieked, nearly breaking my eardrums.

"Looks like another injury straight out of Beacon," said the nurse. "He's got a fractured foot and possibly broken shoulder bone."

I turned around after hearing the mention of Beacon. The screaming guy had blonde hair and was kind of lanky. He flopped around in his bed like a freshly caught fish. Beacon was said to be a place where students were turned into hardened Huntsmen. That was hard to believe after seeing this guy.

"YOU CAN'T LET ME DIE HERE!" He screamed. "MY BONES ARE GOING TO CONTINUE FRACTURING UNTIL I START TO RESEMBLE A JIGSAW PUZZLE!"

I should add that he was very dramatic.

"Calm down!" the nurse barked. "You'll be fine if you just calm yourself down and stop screaming."

"I CAN'T CALM DOWN!" The student screamed. "I'M GOING TO DIE! I'M GOING TO FAIL TO LIVE UP TO THE ARC NAME!"

"Hey," I said softly.

The boy stopped his squawking to see who had spoken to him. "Who are you?" he asked rudely.

"I'm your crippled buddy," I said.

"Oh." His voice became a lot shakier all of a sudden. "I-I'm Jaune. Jaune Arc. I'm…uh…training in Beacon."

"Are you really?" I asked. "I'm trying to go there right now to train! I have a team and everything! We're team RWBY and we've already—"

"Did you come with an acceptance letter?" asked Jaune.

I felt a cold chill down my spine. "A what?"

"Beacon is a pretty prestigious Institute," said Jaune. "They require you to have an acceptance letter from them, and that usually takes up to a year for you to get."

All my positivity slowly evaporated from my body and I felt like a deflated balloon because of it.

"Are you serious?" I asked.

"Yeah, unfortunately," said Jaune. "I only really got in because of my family name. Do you have huntsmen in your family?"

"My uncle teaches at Signal," I said after a brief pause.

"That's a start," said Jaune. "I mean you can always receive the letter by just being well known for your skills—"

"THAT'S IT!" I shouted. Jaune jumped in his bed from the sound of my voice. "I'M GOING TO FIGHT CRIME AND MAKE BEACON NOTICE ME! THANK YOU SO MUCH JAUNE!"

"Now who's being overly dramatic?" asked Jaune.

It was settled. I was going to spend the next day helping out innocents and raising awareness of Team RWBY.


	10. Chapter 10

I think I ended up waking up sometime in the very early hours of the morning. Nobody else was moving and I could only hear the occasional walking cycles of the hospital staff as they tended to various patients. Jaune was sleeping soundly on his bed as I walked past him. It still seemed odd that someone like him managed to make it into Beacon, but I also knew that it wasn't wise to judge someone by their appearance. The strongest fighters can sometimes be the people you least suspect.

Weiss probably wouldn't be ready to fight crime just yet. That didn't mean Blake and Yang wouldn't be ready. I smiled cheerfully to myself as I grabbed my clothes and left the hospital room without anybody noticing.

"Excuse me," said one of the nurses. "Weren't you being hospitalized just now?"

I turned around and smiled. "But I'm all better now!" I said loudly.

The nurse groaned and rubbed her forehead. "You still have to go through the process of payment and—"

"Weiss Schnee will take care of that!" I said. "She's in charge of Team RWBY's funds!"

"Team….RWBY….?" The nurse was clearly dumbstruck by what I was saying.

"Remember that name," I said with a clenched fist. "We're going to be a team that everybody around Remnant will know!"

"…Okay…." The nurse walked away as I returned to the main entrance.

Blake and Yang were both fast asleep. Yang had half of her body lopped on the chair next to her while Blake slept in a fetal position. I was about to wake then both up when I thought about how Yang might react. Sometimes she could be a little overbearing and would probably send me back to the hospital bed. Blake was used to navigating around cities at night and probably wouldn't force me back. Waking her up was probably the most logical choice I could make.

"H-Hey!" I whispered, shaking Blake's shoulder. Her eye slowly opened and stared at me.

"Ruby…?" she moaned, "aren't you supposed to be—"

I covered her mouth with my hand. "Shhhh. I know, but I'm better," I whispered. "I'm going to go into Vale and fight some crime. Want to join?"

"You're going to what?" Blake sounded a lot more attentive this time.

"Great!" I said with a slap on Blake's back. "I knew you'd be up for a little crime fighting action!"

"I'd rather be sleeping," Blake mumbled.

We stepped outside to see Vale at night. It looked almost the same as when we entered, but now the moon was clearly visible above the skyscrapers. I grinned at the people walking to and from their locations. This really was a city that never slept.

"So where do you think all the crime is?" I asked Blake.

"Probably in a low-income area," she answered. "People become more desperate when they live in poverty and struggle to afford the monthly—"

"This is going to be so much fun!" I squealed. "Maybe I should wear the hood over my head to appear more menacing. Or maybe I should act like a normal girl and then, BAM, Huntress activated!"

Blake stared at me and then sighed. I interpreted that as an "okay."

Downtown Vale was taking a lot longer to reach than I had initially planned. It turned out that Vale was divided into various sectors for different activities. There was a business sector, entertainment sector, and every other activity you could cram into a city. Blake walked past all the unique buildings and flashy billboards without a change in expression. Meanwhile, my eyes were glowing with admiration at everything we passed by. The largest city in patch was probably the size of a single sector in Vale. I just couldn't believe that something like this existed in the world.

The streets became less glamorous as we came closer to the poorer parts of Vale. I noticed more buildings with all the lights off and roads with visible cracks in them. According to Blake, Grimm often attacked these areas and this made the rent incredibly cheap. The only problem was that Grimm attacks scared off everybody but the most desperate who had nowhere else to live.

"Oh, look!" I said during the middle of our walk. There was a little store open that reminded me of the shops on patch. An old man was stood at the front of the store with his hands up. Surrounding him were several men with black suits and weapons out.

"We found our first crime!" I shouted.

"Don't say it so loudly!" Blake whispered. "We need to go in there stealthily. They're likely armed and carry a decent amount of dust on them."

I nodded to everything Blake said and then made a dash to the shop.

"RUBY!" I heard Blake say as I sped away.

"Sorry!" I shouted back. Justice never happens quietly!"

I ran so fast that I ended up breaking through the glass door and slammed into the dust section of the store. My nose twitched as multiple dust vials fell and broke on my face.

"Who is this girl?" asked one of the men.

"Seems like a Beacon trainee," said another one. "Those types always like to think of themselves as heroes."

I could feel an itch forming in my nose.

"S-Stop w-w-where you are!" I said as I curled my nose.

The men in black suits all laughed at me.

"Ya see this?" one of them said. "This little chipmunk thinks she's going to make us stop."

He got on one knee and leaned towards my face. "Listen here, girl. We aren't some petty thugs. This store here belongs to us!"

"A-And who are you?" I asked. My nose was beginning to grow stuffy as well. I wasn't sure if I could hold myself much longer.

"We're members of the Torchwick Syndicate," the man snarled. "One fourth of this city is under our control and it just so happens that this guy here owes us a debt."

Two men grabbed the old man and began to put him in a chokehold.

"You see," the man went on, "Boss Torchwick is a kind man. You find yourself in trouble and he'll help you out, but only if you pay him back. Fail to do that and we're forced to rough you up a bit. Now that you've learned your little history lesson, sit back and see what it means to take advantage of us."

My nose wasn't going to let me control it any longer. I opened my mouth and let out a loud sneeze. It was so strong that the dust surrounding me went off all at once; creating chain reaction that destroyed an entire section of the store.

The man closest to me was sent flying along with two others. I got right up and grabbed the old man.

"It's okay," I said. "You're with me now."

"W-Who are you?" asked the old man.

"Ruby Rose," I said with a smirk. "Leader of Team RWBY."

"Ruby?" said Blake. She ran into the store with her weapon out. "What happened?"

"I took care of business," I said.

"That's one way of putting it," said Blake. I could see her eyeing all the destruction my sneeze caused.

"Hey!" One of the men yelled. "We got a freak here!" He pulled out a red sword and ran towards us.

I looked at Blake with a smile.

"I don't even have to say a thing, do I?" Blake said.

Blake disappeared into a shadow clone as soon the man swung his sword. He gasped in surprise and then lurched backwards as Blake reappeared and kicked him right in the stomach. Another man came out wielding a pistol. I gently put the old man down and used my semblance to slam both of my fists into the attackers body before he could shoot. Four more men surrounded Blake and were all sent flying by her whip.

"What's with these kids?" one of the men asked. "We've dealt with Beacon kids before!"

"Yeah?" I said. "Well you haven't dealt with Team RWBY before."

"Don't get cocky!" the man yelled. He pulled out a dust vial from his jacket and raised his arm to throw it. I activated my semblance once again to kick him through the window.

"This poor man's store is getting beat up more than these goons," said Blake.

"Oh yeah…. you're right," I said quietly. I looked over at the old man to see if this bothered him. He looked happy just to be alive.

"You…." I heard one of the men say outside. Blake and I both crossed our arms and stared him down. "You're going to regret ever crossing paths with us. Boss Torchwick will see to that."

"Tell him to bring it on!" I said confidently. "There's nothing Team RWBY can't handle!"

The man stood back up and stared at us once more before running away. A couple of the other men followed him while many more lay unconscious. That's when it stuck me. Blake and I managed to take down criminals in Vale on our first day out. I would have celebrated more if it weren't for the beat up shop right behind us. Weiss's card was going to be run dry at this rate.

 _The criminals from earlier limp into a lavish room that's covered in expensive decorations. Exotic rugs cover the floor while elaborate paintings hang on the wall. At the middle of the room is a desk with a large leather chair behind it. A man with red hair and a black trilby sits on it. His jaw clenches as two men walk into his room with bruises and injuries._

" _What is this?" the man in the trilby asks. "I send you to rough up an old man and you come back looking like you just fought off a Grimm."_

" _We were caught off guard by Huntresses…" says one of the beat up men._

" _Huntresses?" The man in the trilby clenches his fist and stands up from his seat. "Has the city become so desperate that they're commissioning Ozpin and his little henchmen to fight us?"_

" _Well…no…" says the beat up man. "These….uh….these were students."_

 _Torchwick's eye twitches furiously at this sudden revelation. "You mean to tell me that the feared and famed Torchwick Syndicate was thwarted by little girls playing superhero?"_

 _His underling doesn't respond._

 _Torchwick's face burns red as he prepared to scream, but he holds it back and then starts to chuckle. "What an interesting twist of events," he says. "Tell me. What did these girls look like?"_

" _One of them was a little squeaky girl wearing a red hood," says the underline. "The other was a black cat faunus with yellow eyes you couldn't miss."_

" _Little red?" Torchwick says to himself. "I do like the sound of that. I think I'll pay this…. little red…. a visit."_


	11. Chapter 11

"And then they ran away while threatening to fight back!" I said while swinging my arms in a running motion.

"Aw, you really should have brought me with you," said Yang. "I would have punched a perfect hole right in their chest."

"That sounds a little excessive…." Said Blake.

I returned to the hospital shortly after talking with Vale authorities. Weiss was just about done and Yang had just awakened to the sound of me screaming about victory. People were staring at me as I loudly went over everything that happened with my hammy acting skills.

"Excuse us," said a nurse. "Ms. Schnee is finished."

We all turned our heads to see Weiss in her healthy glory. She was dressed in casual white pants with a matching white jacket. A large blue scarf covered her entire neck.

"I'm…I'm back," said Weiss with a weak smile.

"WEISS IS BACK!" I squealed. You could see the look of calmness turn into sudden fear as I leaped to pounce on her. We both fell to the floor after crashing into each other.

"Do you greet everybody you meet by trying to kill them?" she asked.

"Only you," smiled.

"I feel so lucky…."

"Did you hear what Ruby and Blake did?" Yang asked.

Weiss frowned at Yang, and then she stood back up with a single huff. "It's been all over the news," she sighed. "You really need to be more discreet with this kind of thing, Ruby."

"But I beat them," I said. "Now we're a shoo in for Beacon."

Weiss' didn't share my happiness. In fact, she looked even more agitated.

"Sometimes I wonder why I agreed to follow you people along," she sighed again.

Weiss turned to walk outside the hospital when an unfamiliar sight caught her eye. She paused in her steps and stared at Blake.

"Is she with us now?" she asked.

"Yep," I said while wrapping an arm around Blake's shoulder. "We're officially Team RWBY!"

"You named the team after yourself?" Weiss spat.

"Well…yeah," I said. "There wasn't much else I could make with the combo."

Weiss's cheeks turned red for a brief. They always did that when she tried to hide just how frustrated she was.

"Some people just take longer to appreciate things," said Yang. "It's called being a stuck-up bitch."

"WHAT?"

Blake groaned and shook her head as I laughed.

We left the hospital shortly after our short conversation and headed towards Beacon. Weiss had a map on her school that gave us an outline of the city. I was surprised by how organized the whole thing was. You'd think that they just randomly built all these buildings with how complicated things got. My feet were getting so sore from walking that I thought the soles of my shoes would fall off.

"Are we there yet?" I moaned about halfway there.

"Not quite," said Weiss. "You know this mistake wouldn't be made if you had the sense to take transportation."

"We can do that?" I asked.

"I offered twice and you were too busy gushing over yourself," said Weiss. "And I still have questions for our new friend over here. When did you join and what's your aim as a Huntress?"

Blake frowned and looked away.

"Well?" asked Weiss.

"She liked that we treat her as an equal and believe in our goal to improve the world."

"Like an equal?" said Weiss. "Were we really that intimidating to you?"

"Blake's a—"I was about to spill the beans before catching myself.

"She's what?" asked Weiss, eyeing Blake with suspicion.

"I'm an anxious person…" Blake said softly.

Weiss raised an eyebrow and then turned away. "I'd be an anxious person too if I lived with the lowlife's of the world."

"…what?"

"Uhhhh….guys?" said Yang. "I don't think we're going to get much further."

There was a large cliff in front of us. Beyond the cliff was a large building that resembled a castle.

"BEACON!" I screamed. Yang and I squeezed each other as we jumped up and down like children. Blake and Weiss just rolled their eyes at us.

"I can't believe we actually made it," I said. "I've spent so many years fantasizing about this and it's finally happening!"

"Well you're going to have to keep fantasizing if we don't catch an Airbus on time," said Weiss.

The Airbus was how a lot of people travelled across Remnant. I'd only ever been on two in my entire life and enjoyed the ride both times. There's something magical about being so far above everyone else.

"There's an Airbus station close to here. We just need to go there and hope we one of them is heading to Beacon."

"You're so punctual," said Yang with a grin. "It's almost cute."

Weiss responded with a glare from the corner of her eye.

The walk to the Airbus station felt like it took forever. Weiss kept complaining about her weakened legs while Yang complained about Weiss complaining. My head was so dizzy from all the arguing that I didn't even notice the Air bus station at first. It was a busy place with people moving at every second. Some were coming and some were leaving. You weren't sure which direction they were going because of how many swarmed over us.

"This place is like a cage," said Weiss. "Reminds me why I fly private instead of public."

"I wish you had the same philosophy with the stuff you say," said Yang.

"Whoa there. Wouldn't want you to use too many brain cells with big words like that."

"I see something!" I said. There was a man holding a sign that said Team RWBY on it. Maybe Beacon had sent after us with all the news reports going on about us.

"Ruby!" I heard Yang call out. I ignored her and approached the man standing in front of the Air Bus. He was a friendly looking guy dressed in a business suit.

"I'm Ruby of Team RWBY," I said happily.

The man looked at me and nodded. "Ozpin has been waiting for you," he said.

"HE HAS?" My heart was now pounding so hard that I thought it was going to grow legs and kick its way out. "He must have seen us!"

"Ruby!" I heard Yang shout as she ran towards me. "What are you doing?"

"This guy says Ozpin requested to see us based on how we did." I pointed to the man in front of the Air bus with the goofiest face Yang had ever seen.

"He did?" Yang asked, staring at the man with uncertainty. Weiss and Blake followed shortly after and they also had the same look of suspicion as Yang.

"I'd like for some sort of proof that you are who you say you are," said Weiss, holding out her hand as if she expected the answer to fall in her hands.

To our surprise, something came out of the man's hand. It was a document from Beacon itself. We all moved closer to read what it had to say.

"I, Professor Ozpin, request the members of Team RWBY to come to Beacon. Your actions and heroism have proven to us that your team has potential to benefit from our training. Arrive before sunrise in order for us to discuss housing accommodations and other miscellaneous information."

It was there as clear as it could be. I reread the letter over and over just to convince myself that this was all really happening.

"Ruby," said Blake. She gently tapped my shoulder.

"Huh?" I asked.

"I have an uneasy feeling about this."

"What do you mean? It's weird for Beacon to recognize that we did something heroic?"

"Well….yes," Blake muttered. "This all just feels too convenient for my liking."

"Oh, Blake. You need to stop being so uneasy about everything. I trust you because I believe in you as a friend and I know you'd never lie to me."

Blake's eyes looked away from me when I said that.

"Just have some faith and let's see how this all turns out."

Blake stared at the man some more and then slowly nodded at me. "Okay," she said. "But I'll still be on my guard."

I hugged her tightly and ran into the Air Bus.

"So we're really doing this," said Weiss.

"Looks like it," said Yang.

The four of us entered the large Air Bus. I note that it was large because it really was much larger than any Air Bus I had seen. They were usually around the size to fit about four to five people, but this one looked like it could fit twice that many. Ozpin apparently thought we were just that special.

I sat myself comfortably in the front seat while the rest of my team looked around with caution.

"You all ready?" the pilot asked.

"YEAH!" I cheered.

"Then off we go!" the Air bus let out a loud noise as the engines ran. I could feel the machine lifting off of the ground. We were finally going to Beacon.

"I can't believe we're this close," I said with a smile.

"This is rather surprising," said Weiss.

"Yeah," said Yang.

Blake continued to stare off. I noticed her fidgeting repeatedly. Her suspicions slowly started to become a reality as the Air Bus flew in the opposite direction from Beacon, moving closer to the slums.

"Where are we going?" I asked. "Beacon is that way!"

"I knew this was too good to be true!" Said Weiss. "I demand answers and I demand them now!"

The pilot chuckled darkly and said, "I'm taking you girls for a little ride. Boss Torchwick sends his regards to the girl over there." He pointed at Blake.

Blake's mouth fell open and so did mine. I think all of ours did at the same time.

"Blake?" I asked. "What does he mean by that?"

"I…I don't know…" said Blake. She cowered as the three of us moved closer, equally upset and confused.

"You should know exactly what I'm talking about," said the pilot. "Your friend Adam Taurus did tell us to send you his regards."


End file.
